Do your chickens eat snow?

Mine all acted like snow was toxic at 1st, but now they have accepted it and do eat it. I noticed them eating it a few minutes ago made me go check to be cure the water wasn't frozen. nope, not frozen! They won't step in the snow though.

Yesterday, we got tons of snow here! The whole flock decided to spend the entire day in the coop, after seeing the run all covered in white. At least it's big enough for them to move around in, since it's 10' x 10' with at least an 8' sloped roof. (We originally built it to house peafowl, but gave up when they all died suddenly.) We currently have 5 adult chickens, and 10 younger birds (hatched in September and October). I can't really blame them... It felt nice and toasty in there, when I visited to bring them some Oatmeal for breakfast.

I wish my birds did eat snow... That way at least they could still have a supply of water, even if their waterer was frozen solid. So far, though, they are too "chicken" to try it!

a few of them do. my marans hen is little-miss-peck-everything-that-looks-weird and she got some of my black stars into it. she's the "lead hen" and the bug marans rooster's favorite so most of the hens do everything she does with as much enthusiasm as a chicken can express

the fayoumis are a different story. they BATHE in the snow! what the heck?

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Are your chickens iron-deficient? Humans eat ICE like crazy when iron-deficient. It is called PICA syndrome.

chickens eating snow sounds so funny and cute but i dont know with the girlies since i havent gotten any snow whatsoever.

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No, they don't actually EAT the icy snow- just apparently it's the SPECIAL snow everyone's got to have. Now I know what to get them for Christmas!

I'm pretty sure they're not iron-deficent- though Polish are so crazy anyway I don't know how I would tell if there was something wrong neurologically!

Oh no, my friend! I was only kidding about the iron deficient part!

Your Polish hen and rest of the crew probably likes the pop, crackle, snap and crunch of "SPECIAL" snow.

Krispy Snow! Ice Krispy Snow!

Yeah, I knew you were kidding, ISSOLA. Forgot to put smilies in.

I live in northen Ontario, I have 10 Barred Rocks, when it first snowed they tried to eat it as fast as it came down, the didn't win but since then it has snowed ALOT here, i shoveled out thier run thinking they would go out, nope they didnt. they have been in the coop for a month now, they got a long way to go, although when i am changing the water, the rooster wil come out a bit and check things out, but goes back in.

Years and Years ago (at least 20) I remember a Mother Earth News article by someone who generally slaughtered all his chickens in the fall because he felt he didn't have the resources to care for chickens in the winter (didn't want to run electricity to the coop). That is, until late one winter he found a "stealth" hen in his coop who had survived all winter by itself, eating spilled grain and "drinking" snow. The author suggested that meant that people in cold climates didn't have to provide heated waterers, that chickens could survive, and even thrive (he said it was in blooming health).

My very first thought (I lived in NE Kansas at the time) was, well, that's all and good for people who HAVE snow all winter, but what about those of us that have a lot of freezing temps, but have snow on the ground relatively few days?

My second was, "how can you possibly miss seeing whole animal for several months? Was your coop in a different county??" I can't imagine...

My thought now is...he slaughtered his whole flock every year? (my memory is not that great but I don't think he was just raising meat birds, either)...

Anyway... my intended point was, at least some people have counted on chickens eating snow as a management tool. How successful that was in the long term, I have no idea.